Pure Benchmarks · Portfolio Benchmark Report
Is Your ADP Retirement Services Portfolio Underperforming?
Short answer
Your ADP Retirement Services portfolio is underperforming when its return trails a pure index baseline at the same risk level once every fee is counted. A single market index cannot answer that on its own, because it does not hold the same mix of stocks and bonds you do. Pure Benchmarks answers it by placing your actual holdings in one of nine risk categories, recategorized daily from end-of-day holdings, then ranking you against thousands of verified investor portfolios in that same category. For workplace & employer-sponsored platforms, the usual gap comes from the default-menu ceiling.
ADP Retirement Services administers employer-sponsored plans, where a bounded fund menu and default options constrain the mix.
Pure Benchmarks ranks real ADP Retirement Services portfolios against thousands of other verified investor portfolios across nine standardized risk categories, from 100% equity to 90% fixed income. Every portfolio is recategorized daily from actual end-of-day holdings, and Community Nests shows exactly where your ADP Retirement Services portfolio ranks against other real ADP Retirement Services clients in the same risk category — built entirely from verified portfolio data, with no firm that manages money able to see any data point on the platform.
Why your ADP Retirement Services portfolio can lag a pure index baseline
The default-menu ceiling. Workplace plans limit choices to a set menu and often default balances into a single target-date fund. Convenient defaults and a bounded fund list can quietly hold the allocation away from a broad low-cost index baseline.
What to review on your ADP Retirement Services portfolio
- Check whether the balance is sitting in a default target-date fund rather than a chosen allocation.
- Look at how the plan-menu allocation compares with a broad low-cost index baseline.
Illustrative 10-year comparison — a standard managed portfolio versus a pure index baseline. Figures are illustrative only.
| Year | Standard managed portfolio | Pure index baseline | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | $105,200 | $107,000 | -$1,800 |
| Year 3 | $116,400 | $122,500 | -$6,100 |
| Year 5 | $128,700 | $140,300 | -$11,600 |
| Year 7 | $142,300 | $160,600 | -$18,300 |
| Year 10 | $165,100 | $196,700 | -$31,600 |
See exactly where your ADP Retirement Services portfolio stands.
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See Your Free Benchmark ReportADP Retirement Services portfolio questions, answered
Is my ADP Retirement Services portfolio underperforming?
It depends on what you compare it against. Measured against a pure index baseline at the same risk level, and against real investor portfolios in that same risk class, the answer becomes concrete instead of a guess. Pure Benchmarks builds that comparison from your actual end-of-day holdings and updates the risk category daily as your allocation drifts.
How do I compare my ADP Retirement Services portfolio to other investors?
Link the account and Pure Benchmarks sorts the portfolio into one of nine standardized risk categories, from 100% equity to 90% fixed income, then ranks it inside Community Nests against thousands of other verified portfolios in that same category. The comparison is peer-to-peer, not a single index, so the result reflects how people invested like you actually did.
What is the right benchmark for my ADP Retirement Services portfolio?
A peer group in your own risk class, plus a pure index baseline held at the same risk level. Comparing a mixed stock-and-bond portfolio to the S&P 500 alone overstates or understates the result depending on the year, because the risk levels do not match. Matching the risk level first is what makes the comparison honest.
Do fees explain the gap on my ADP Retirement Services account?
Workplace plans limit choices to a set menu and often default balances into a single target-date fund. Convenient defaults and a bounded fund list can quietly hold the allocation away from a broad low-cost index baseline. Pure Benchmarks does not read your fee schedule; it measures the outcome, so any drag that comes from cost, product selection, cash handling, or turnover shows up in where the portfolio ranks against its peers.
Do I have to move money or leave ADP Retirement Services to use Pure Benchmarks?
No. Pure Benchmarks is read-only and free. It never moves money, never places trades, and no firm that manages money can see any data point on the platform. You keep the account exactly where it is and only gain the comparison.
What should I check first on my ADP Retirement Services portfolio?
Check whether the balance is sitting in a default target-date fund rather than a chosen allocation. After that, compare the portfolio's return against a pure index baseline at the same risk level and against real peers in that risk class, which is the comparison this report is built on.
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Answer the bigger questions
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This page is an information baseline for comparison only. It is not investment advice and not a recommendation to buy, sell, replace, or transfer any specific asset, account, or firm. Past performance does not guarantee future results. All figures shown are illustrative.